A few days ago, we went over the first of these little bible studies of sorts on my blog....
And going forward, none of this even matters if I didn't first cement my belief in the bible itself. Every bible study I ever do with anyone, always begins with the Scriptures. For example, if someone doesn't even believe that it's inspired and / or is filled with nothing but fables, we can't progress in a discussion about faith.
Why?
Because if you don't believe in the bible, every other doctrine I will present cannot be understood. As it all comes from the Word. So it's always important for me to put the bible first in my faith. Which then brings me to my next point...
God.
Now there's a pretty big topic :)
I am a bible believing Christian and I believe in One God, Three distinct Persons.
Wait...What?
A lot of Christians call it the Trinity and I'm o.k. with that. However the term 'trinity' isn't even mentioned in the bible. The term 'Godhead' however is, so I use the terms interchangeably. But how can God be One, yet 3 distinct persons? How does that even make sense?
(image via Wes Huff's blog)
That image is SUPER confusing if you look at it quickly, but there is actually a ton of great information on it. And some of the verses I like to point to in the bible that shows us the Godhead!
Let us make man in our image....
Genesis 1:26 was a verse I used to struggle with a lot. When I was growing up in Toronto, I used to frequent the downtown core a lot. And that was front and center for a lot of street preachers of different religions. One guy I used to speak with was not Christian, and his faith was way out there. He actually thought we came from aliens and kept asking a young impressionable Jongo "Who is Us?"
I never looked at Star Trek the same ever again....Plus I always struggled with that because I thought....
God is One? The only God? Who is Us?
If you look at the Hebrew translation of Genesis 1:26 the word 'Elohim' appears when it reads 'And God said....' Elohim is actually plural, meaning more than one. So that kind of helps me, but still....How can 3 be 1?
I kept digging into the bible and finding verses like Matthew 28:19, aka the great commission.
Wow.
We see 3 distinct people right here, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. These 3 make up what some Christians call the Godhead or Trinity. Now how it all works.....Do you have a few centuries to break it all down?
I'll be the first to admit, the Trinity doctrine when you first look at it is kind of out there. But when you see how each member of the Godhead serves the other, and it's a perfect relationship, things start to make a bit more sense.
While this is a hotly debated verse for some, I run with it. It's more evidence that the bible confirms three coeternal persons, yet they are one.
We see the Godhead at the baptism of Christ specifically as well in Matthew 3....
Jesus - the Son is being baptized and then we see the Holy Spirit descending like a dove. Finally, God the Father says 'This is beloved Son....'
There are plenty of supporting Scriptures but for the sake of brevity, I just included these with examples. But like I mentioned above, I think it would take centuries to explain God and that still wouldn't be enough time.
He is infinite. He is worthy to be praised. And there's a whole lot about Him, we will never know for certain. Thats why He's God, and we aren't. My faith doesn't require to have all the answers, Paul in Hebrews even states:
That's good enough for me, I'll run with it :)
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In the Catholic tradition it is very much the same. It is considered a mystery of faith. We believe the Trinity without fully understanding it.
An imperfect analogy of trinity is a flame, which has light, heat, and energy. They are all distinct, but part of the same flame.
It is similar to bread and wine becoming the flesh and blood of Jesus at the Eucharist. It's kind of weird that we would believe such a thing. But Jesus said that is what they were at the Last Supper, and instructed that His followers do the same in His memory. We do not fully understand how bread and wine become flesh and blood, but we accept it as a mystery of faith.
I think Faith is the key piece here for accepting without proof or full understanding.
This is a complicated situation, but a good explanation.